Lost Without You
by ChangingTheCircumstances
Summary: When a mission goes wrong, the Avengers will do everything to get Coulson and Clint back. Jarvis/Coulson, Steve/Tony, Bruce/Loki, and Clint/Natasha. Rated T for now. Sequel to 'The Agent and the AI Babysit.'
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Okay who am I kidding? I love writing about the Avengers and now that I've gotten into the thought of these two being together I'm actually surprised I didn't post this sooner. For those that are new, once again this is a sequel to 'The Agent and the AI Babysit' which is also a sequel to a bunch of others but I guess it can be read alone if you want though I suggest you read the others. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next story and reviews are greatly appreciated.**

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It was a new feeling but it was a feeling that Jarvis liked. Sleeping, it was different but it was nice especially when he woke up next to Coulson every morning. Like right now, Coulson's head was resting against his shoulder. He was snoring pretty loudly and that probably would have annoyed just about anybody else in the world but Jarvis didn't mind. Besides, it gave him something to tease him about later.

Jarvis slowly moved out from under him to then get ready for the day. He took off what had become his pajamas, a simple shirt and sweat pants like Coulson, and changed into his usual black and white suit. He had just started to adjust his tie in the bathroom mirror when he heard a grumbling sound come from the bedroom. He poked his head in and laughed at what he saw.

"Stand up to quickly there Coulson?" he asked with a smile. Even though it probably would have been alright to call Coulson by his first name, Jarvis liked the sound of his last name better and he was use to calling him that anyway.

"Yes," grumbled Coulson as he sat back down and rubbed his head. "You're lucky; you don't have to experience what it feels like when blood rushes to your head."

Jarvis chuckled as he finished smoothing out his suit. He went over and kissed Coulson on the cheek. They had got into a kind of routine, in the morning they left whenever they were ready, not really waiting up on the other unless their jobs seemed to coincide that day. Normally Jarvis was the one to leave the apartment first but not always. He said good bye and then made his way to his new car that Tony had gotten him as part of an 'I'm sorry' and 'I'd rather you use this than public transportation' gift.

As Jarvis left, Coulson rubbed his temples a few more times before he was sure he was okay and then finally stood up and stretched. He got dressed in his suit that was pretty much exactly like Jarvis' except for the fact that it was obviously for someone shorter. After getting dressed, Jarvis grabbed a quick granola bar for his breakfast and then made his way to his own car. Driving through the city, Coulson headed towards what he figured was going to be a very average day at S.H.E.I.L.D. However, he was completely wrong about that.

Still, it started out normal until the meeting was called. Director Nick Fury had asked Agent Coulson, Barton, and Romanoff to come to his office, and of course they all were there.

"I'm sending you three out on an important mission. You'll be leaving tomorrow morning at about four," Fury said as he stood behind his desk.

"And what exactly is this mission, sir?" asked Barton.

"We have reason to believe that someone has formed a new Hydra and they are recruiting," replied Fury. "Your mission is to examine the situation to see if this is really happening. If not, find out what is happening but do not engage the enemy." As he said the last words, he made a point to look at both Romanoff and Barton with more scrutiny than Coulson. "I am also sending other teams in. You shouldn't see them but if you do happen to cross paths do not act like you know them. That is all."

However, before anyone could leave, Coulson asked, "Have you informed Captain Rogers of this sir?"

"No and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell him or any of the other Avengers for that matter," replied Fury. "So, in other words that's an order."

They all nodded and then quickly left. Coulson had about a million questions going through his head like 'Where were we going' and 'Who would want to form Hydra again.' He also wanted to know why they shouldn't tell Rogers. Then there was just one other thing that was bothering him. The mission itself, it just didn't seem right. He didn't know why, call it gut instinct, but something about this seemed to carefully planned and when he said planned he didn't mean by Fury.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you so much for the reviews and story alerts. I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

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"So where are you going for this mission?" asked Jarvis curiously as they sat in the gazebo together. They had finished it almost two months ago and now came to just sit and talk nearly every day.

"No idea," replied Coulson, "and I can't say anything more about it."

"Of course you can't," chuckled Jarvis. "How long will you be gone anyway?"

"No idea, though hopefully it won't be to long."

They stayed silent for a while when Jarvis looked at Coulson. He seemed deep in thought about something that was bothering him so Jarvis asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Not really it's just that, I feel like something just isn't right. You know? Like there's something I'm missing but I just can't figure it out," replied Coulson.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. Besides you have Natasha and Clint to back you up."

"So you don't think that I can take care of myself?" asked Coulson with a smile.

"Of course not," replied Jarvis with a laugh. "I'm just saying that it's better to stand with friends than to stand alone."

"Quite right Jarvis," murmured Coulson as his mind wondered back to his mission.

They stayed at the gazebo until finally they decided to go home. Both read until a little after nine thirty and then finally Coulson and Jarvis went to sleep.

When Jarvis awoke at about six, he found the other side of the bed to be empty. At first he looked around the bedroom until he finally remembered that Coulson was gone on his mission. Jarvis sighed as he let his head fall back down onto the pillow. It was strange, after waking up next to someone for so long he felt kind of lonely now that the other half of the bed was cold. However, he didn't let himself rest long as he quickly got up, put on his suit and headed to Tony's.

When he got there, he was surprised to see Steve and Pepper in the living room, both looking pretty irritated. "Is something the matter?" asked Jarvis as he cocked his head to the side.

"Tony was supposed to be at a meeting in New York yesterday and be back this morning to get ready for one here but neither of us have heard from him. Have you heard anything Jarvis?" asked Pepper with a frustrated sigh.

Jarvis was just about to reply no when, speak of the devil, Tony ran into the room. "Sorry everyone I'm late the meeting ran later than I thought."

"Tony, that meeting occurred yesterday. How much later could it have gone over?" said Pepper with a shake of her head.

"And you know what I'd like to know?" asked Steve as he walked over to Tony. "Why don't you answer your cell phone?"

Tony cried out as Steve hit him upside the head. "Hey, I thought I got a welcome home _kiss_, not _punch_," muttered Tony though he was grinning all the same.

Steve kissed him on the cheek as he replied, "Don't answer your cell phone again and I will give you a welcome home punch."

"Then what was that you just gave me?"

"A poke."

Tony laughed at his joke and then went over to grab some of the paperwork that Pepper was holding. As he shifted through it he said, "Jarvis, as per usual make sure the place is clean and I have a project downstairs that I want you to work on."

"You mean the one you started last night?"

"You got it," replied Tony as he pecked Steve on the cheek, said bye, and, with Pepper in tow, headed towards his next meeting.

Steve had work to do for S.H.E.I.L.D. and soon left afterwards so that Jarvis finally had the house all to himself. He controlled the machines to start cleaning everything as he headed down to Tony's work place. He had quickly found that he liked working on whatever project he was supposed to with his hands instead of the machines. He could get it done just about as fast and the quality was just as good as if he had used the machines so there was no problem.

However, as he worked, his mind wandered back to Coulson and how much he missed him already despite the fact the twelve hours hadn't even passed yet. It was going to be lonely when he got back to the apartment.

_Hurry back Coulson_, thought Jarvis as he continued to work.


	3. Chapter 3

On the flight there, Coulson, Romanoff, and Barton were filled in on everything else. Apparently they were going to Norway and the first place they were to check out was a mental hospital, or, more accurately, the remains of a mental hospital. Despite the fact that the place had been completely destroyed, all of the staff and the patients and been accounted for except for one.

The one missing went by the name Aksel Kristoffer and had been brought in because of a multiple personality disorder. Though his other personality hadn't shown in quite some time he had been deemed unfit to function in everyday life. This was because his other personality had killed nearly thirty people.

The agent, Maria Hill, who was giving them there briefing then said, "It is believed that this may be one of the men this new Hydra has been recruiting which would explain why his body was never found."

"Is there anything special about him besides the number of people he's killed that would make Hydra want him?" asked Barton.

"Not only is he a murderer but he is also an expert on torture. His nerves do not work correctly and there for he feels no pain himself. Also, he is much faster and stronger than a normal human, similar to that of Captain Rogers. However, he obviously never had the serum, instead it is some sort of mutation," answered Hill.

_This could get ugly_, thought Coulson to himself as they continued to discuss the mission. Apparently, there team was the only one investigating the hospital, at least for now, so they wouldn't be running into any other agents from S.H.E.I.L.D. After the briefing, they still had several hours until they arrived so each agent was left to his or her own thoughts.

Currently Coulson was thinking of Jarvis. He missed him a lot but hopefully this mission would go fairly quickly. Still, there was something about this mission that just didn't sit right with him. Nothing in the briefing had either aroused, or proven his suspicions which suggested that the problem was closer to home. However, nothing came to mind that could have made him uneasy about this mission. Once again, he figured it was just a gut feeling.

When they touched ground, they had already decided what position they would take. Barton would immediately go to a nearby roof top to keep an eye on everything around the hospital. Romanoff would be in an abandoned apartment building next to the hospital. Coulson, who had been given a fake ID, would act as a Politiførstebetjent, or police chief inspector, for the Norwegian Police Service. Coulson could speak eighteen languages and thankfully Norwegian was one of them.

Everything began smoothly, the area was blocked off of course but none of the officers gave Coulson any trouble. He checked out the place as best he could and for a while thought that he wouldn't find anything. Then, using one of the tools that S.H.E.I.L.D. had given him, Coulson picked up levels of alpha radiation in the part of the building that was most wrecked. The area was also around the place where Aksel's room had been.

"There's alpha radiation here. Besides that there's nothing else I can find," said Coulson into a Bluetooth. "However, I'm sure both of you already know what this might mean."

It was an unspoken agreement as the three of them wondered if the alpha radiation had done something similar to Aksel like what the gamma radiation had done to Bruce. However, quite suddenly Barton said, "Something's wrong. The police officers from outside are leaving."

Leaving? That didn't make any since. Quickly, Coulson made his way through the rubble as quickly as he could. "Barton, Romanoff, is there anything else you see?"

He was met with silence.

"Barton, Romanoff do you copy?" asked Coulson again as he finally made his way out of the wreckage. From the direction he was looking, the street was completely empty which didn't bode well at all. Once again he said, "Romanoff are you there? Barton what's happened?"

This time he wasn't met with silence but the voice, which sounded extremely familiar, that he heard wasn't coming from the Bluetooth, it was coming from behind him. "Turn around slowly and don't even think about trying to grab your gun." Doing as he said, Coulson cursed inwardly as he slowly turned around and came face to face with one of the last people he had expected to see.

"Agent Smith?" Agent Ronald Smith a colleague of Coulson's. He had been with S.H.E.I.L.D. for nearly five years now and was an excellent agent, or he had been. At the moment, he was pointing a gun in Coulson's face.

"Hey Coulson, long time no see," said Smith with a smirk.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Coulson as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"It will become clear soon enough," replied Smith.

"What have you done with Agents Barton and Romanoff?" asked Coulson with a sudden iciness coming into his voice.

"Don't worry, they're still alive, for now."

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**AN: Once again thanks for the reviews and what not and just wanted to quickly say that Aksel and Smith are both OC characters just so no one goes and tries to find them in a comic book or something. Hope you liked the chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

Coulson didn't like this one bit. After Smith said something into a walkie-talkie, agents of Hydra, you could tell because of the emblem on their chest, started to come out. Three of them went to Coulson and roughly pulled his hands behind his back as they handcuffed him. Smith walked over to one of the agents and asked, "So did you get them?'

"We have the one with bow an' arrows but the woman in black escaped us."

"What!" Smith practically screamed. He threw a punch, knocking the unfortunate agent to the ground. Everyone took a few steps back as Smith fumed. "It's no matter," Smith finally muttered, "Coulson's the one I really need anyway."

"I knew we were colleagues but really Smith," mocked Coulson as he mentally thought that the only reason he had said that was because he had been hanging around Tony to much.

"Just shut up!" growled Smith in response. "And, for your information, just because you're the one I want doesn't mean I'll just let Agent Barton go. No, he can be a guinea-pig."

"For what?" asked Coulson.

Smith simply smiled a cold smile and then directed everyone to go back to wherever they were supposed to go. Smith then had three agents drag Coulson along to where a car was parked and shoved him in. Sadly, Coulson probably could have gotten away even with his hands behind his back but the entire ride in the car Smith had his gun out and Coulson knew for a fact that Smith would shoot him faster than he could escape.

As they rode in the car, Coulson couldn't help but glance at Agent Smith again and again. He looked exactly the same as Coulson had last seen him. Same light brown hair that seemed to long, same dark gray eyes, and the same muscler features. Yet, despite this, Coulson felt like he was looking at a complete stranger.

I _guess this just shows how much you really know a person_, thought Coulson to himself but out loud he asked, "What happened to you? You were an amazing agent so why would you do this?"

"For revenge," Smith replied simply as he gave another smirk.

"Who would you possibly want revenge against?"

"You."

"What?" Now Coulson was utterly confused. He didn't understand this one bit. As far as he could think, he had never done anything that would cause ill thoughts, at the most a need for revenge, against Smith. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't worry, I told you, you'll see soon enough," replied Smith with another smile.

Eventually, the car took them to a small, private airport at the edge of the current city they were in. Smith got out of the car as the Hydra agents pulled Coulson out and over to a nearby plane. It was obvious that Coulson wouldn't be able to get free since the seats were situated on the wall and you had to strap yourself in like some military or even S.H.E.I.L.D. planes. However, Coulson stopped dead upon seeing one figure.

It was Barton. There was a nasty gash on the back of his head that had obviously knocked him unconscious and several cuts and bruises on his face and arms. Coulson was so surprised that he forgot all formality and shouted, "Clint!"

"Yeah, there's your friend, now keep moving," growled the agent behind him as they pushed him into the seat next to Barton. It was extremely uncomfortable mainly because they kept his hands tied behind his back as they strapped him in.

As he glanced over at Barton, Coulson realized that his shout must have done something because he could see his eyes flicker as Barton tried to open them. Finally, they did open. Barton gave a large groan as he shifted in his seat.

"Sorry Coulson, they ambushed me," said Barton as he leaned back and then hissed in pain as the gash on the back of his head touched the seat.

"It's alright, I'm just thankful you're alive," murmured Coulson as Hydra agents began to board the plane as well.

"Where's Natasha?" Barton suddenly asked.

"Escaped," replied Coulson and he could hear Barton sigh with relief.

Then, as Agent Smith boarded the plane Barton's eyes widened in surprise. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"No idea," Coulson replied and then both of them were ordered to shut up.

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**AN: Hope you liked this chapter and thanks so much for the reviews. Hopefully I'll post the next chapter today.**


	5. Chapter 5

Two days had passed since Coulson, Barton, and Romanoff left. Jarvis had expected their mission to last probably at least a week just because of how missions for S.H.E.I.L.D. could be but already Jarvis was missing Coulson more than anything. He had gotten into such a routine and now that part of the routine had been broken he didn't know what to do. He worked longer at Tony's but he still longed for Coulson.

However, he was surprised to get a call from S.H.E.I.L.D. as he once again worked late in Tony's work place. Confused, Jarvis picked up the phone and said, "Hello?"

"We need you down at S.H.E.I.L.D. now Jarvis," was Nick Fury's short reply.

It was easy to say Jarvis was stunned. Why would they possibly need him? Unless of course something had happened to Coulson. However, Jarvis wouldn't let himself think about that possibility as he got into his car and went to S.H.E.I.L.D. When he got there, Tony, Steve, Bruce, Loki, who was holding Virreena, and even Thor, who Jarvis had thought had gone back to Asgard, stood in the meeting room.

Jarvis immediately went to Tony as he asked, "What's going on?"

"So he called you too," muttered Tony. "No, I don't have a clue what's going on. The fact that he wants you here as well is just all the more baffling."

They all waited a few more minutes until finally Fury came in. Behind him came Agent Romanoff. There were yellow bruises around her throat like someone had tried to strangle her and a small cut above her eye. It was obvious that everyone expected Coulson and Barton to come in after her but neither one came. At that moment, Jarvis thought of the expression 'my heart was gripped in ice' because that was the only way he could describe how he felt right now.

"Avengers, Loki, Jarvis," Fury greeted, "I have brought you here because of something extremely unsettling."

He paused, partially for effect and so that everyone could get seated. Somehow, Virreena seemed to understand the serious of the situation because she kept completely quit just like everyone else.

"Agents Romanoff, Barton, and Coulson were sent out on a mission two days ago. There first part of the mission was to inspect the remains of a mental hospital in Norway where a man named Aksel Kristoffer escaped. It is believed that Aksel was recruited for Hydra."

"But Hydra—"

"This is a new Hydra Captain Rogers," Fury interrupted Steve. "It was formed only recently. Anyway, Romanoff, Barton and Coulson were ambushed. Romanoff was able to get away but no word has been heard from Coulson or Barton."

Jarvis found it was becoming harder to breathe, which was strange since he didn't really breathe in the first place. And, even though Jarvis didn't believe in any god, like religion, he prayed and prayed for both Coulson and Clint to be alright.

"What have you done to get our friends back?" Thor then asked.

"Nothing."

"What?" cried Tony. "What do you mean nothing?"

"I mean nothing. S.H.E.I.L.D. has opted that it is in our best interest if we don't go looking for them. Besides, we don't even know where Hydra is now."

"If you weren't planning to do anything then why did you call us here?" yelled Tony as he stood up.

"I said S.H.E.I.L.D. wouldn't do anything. I didn't say anything about you lot," replied Fury. "I gave you this information. Now it is your choice to do with it what you want. If you end up destroying Hydra in the process, that's fine with me."

When Fury walked out of the room Steve stood up, automatically taking the role of leader, and said, "I'll take it that there is no need to argue over whether or not we'll save our friends, correct?"

Everybody nodded in agreement. As Jarvis clenched and unclenched his hands, he glanced over at Natasha. Even though it was hard to see, Jarvis could tell that not only was see afraid for Clint but that she was angry with herself for not being able to help him. Jarvis felt sorry for her but there was nothing he could do at the moment. Suddenly an idea came into his head.

"I can scan the Nordic area and use satellites to find the Hydra base," Jarvis quickly put in. "Might take a while but it's the best chance we have at the moment."

Tony nodded, "I can help you Jarvis. Once we figure out where it is and what it looks like we can devise a battle strategy."

"I can also give you all the information that I was given," put in Natasha. "Also, there's one other thing. Before Coulson and Barton were captured, Coulson found alpha radiation around the area where Aksel, the guy we were investigating, was. We have no idea if he's alive but if he is and he's working for Hydra we'll have to be careful."

Everybody nodded and as they continued deciding what to do, Natasha suddenly realized something. Aksel was an expert on torturing. If he was working for Hydra and they tried to get information out of Barton or Coulson . . . she didn't even want to think about it.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thank you so much for the reviews they mean a lot. I'm happy you seem to be enjoying it. Hope you like this next one.**

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Coulson and Barton had been directed off the plane and into a huge building that Coulson was pretty sure was Hydra's base. They had then been lead to an underground prison and put into the same cell. The doors were metal with a small window at the top that had bars covering it and a small opening at the bottom for food. However, no food had come for the past two days. Water had been given to them to keep them hydrated but their stomachs were empty. Besides the soft light that came from behind the door, the rest of the cell was dark and cold. Coulson had torn up his jacket to cover up Barton's head wound so that there was less of a chance of it getting infected as well. Thankfully, he didn't have a concussion.

It seemed like almost every hour Smith came down too. However, both Coulson and Barton had given up trying to ask him anything because he never talked. Just stared into the cell, which was extremely unnerving. Nevertheless, the next time Smith came down he broke the silence by asking, "You wanted to know why I wanted revenge against you, correct?"

Coulson gave a slight nod, wondering if he'd finally be told.

"Well, you see, I want revenge because you killed my brother."

Coulson frowned as he replied, "But you don't have a brother."

"Not anymore because you killed him," shot back Smith. "His name was Allen Smith but you probably know him better as the Reaper."

Suddenly it clicked, well not completely. Coulson remembered the Reaper well. He had been a serial killer up near Washington State that had gotten hold of some weapons technology from a foreign country. He had modified everything that he had gotten though; making each weapon better than it was before. S.H.E.I.L.D. had investigated and Coulson had been one of the agents on that case. In the end, Coulson was the one who shot and killed him.

"He was your brother?" asked Coulson. It made sense why Smith would want revenge now but he was still finding it hard to believe that Smith had a brother.

"Yes," replied Smith. "If you like I'll let you explain why you did it though I already know I won't care. However, it might be amusing what you come up with."

"There's nothing to explain. He was a murderer and I killed him not only because it was my job but because if I didn't he probably would have kept on killing," said Coulson.

"And if you hadn't shot him I'd still have a brother but the past is the past," replied Smith. "Personally I like to live in the present."

At that point the door opened and four Hydra agents stepped in. "Now it's time for you to be tortured and for Agent Barton to be used as a guinea-pig."

Quick as a flash Coulson was up and in front of Barton. "Take me instead."

"Take you instead? You're already getting tortured what more could you want?" asked Smith with a laugh.

"I mean use me as your guinea-pig as well."

"You don't even know what we're testing and yet you still would rather take Agent Barton's place. That's so sweet."

"Coulson you can't do this—" Barton tried to say.

However, Coulson interrupted him by saying, "I'm your handler and I'm not letting you get hurt anymore than is in my power."

Smith smirk as he said, "We could call this the 'Which one kills you first game.' Death by torture or death by guinea-pig, it should be fun."

Then, before Barton could try to convince Coulson not to go, the Hydra agents dragged him out of the cell and closed the door behind him. They dragged him back up to the stairs and went through the first door they saw on the stair well. The room they entered had a manner of surgical instruments on the wall and in the middle of the room was a table. One the Hydra agents roughly shoved him onto the table and then strapped him down. The door then opened again and a man walked in.

It was Aksel Kristoffer.

However, he didn't look like he had in the pictures that Coulson had seen anymore. He still had the same face shape and hair color but his eyes were almost completely white. He was blind. His skin was almost stark white as well, his veins bulging, and he had way more muscles than before.

"And I can do anything I want?" questioned Aksel with a thick Norwegian accent.

"Just as long as you don't kill him," replied Smith with a laugh.

Despite the fact that Aksel was blind, he seemed to be able to navigate pretty well. He walked over to a rack, his hands sliding against it until he finally grabbed a small scalpel. Coulson was sure if he should be glad or absolutely terrified by the fact that the instrument Aksel had chosen was so small.

Aksel then walked over to a different are of the room and grabbed a box of salt. He walked back over to Coulson and opened up his shirt. Aksel felt his chest as if he was looking for something in particular; his hands were cold and slimy.

His hand was then stopped when it was right around the area where the stomach would be. He took the scalpel and dug it into Coulson's skin. Coulson resisted the urge to yell out as his teeth clenched together. Then Aksel poured salt into the wound. He did this several times, all over Coulson's chest. Most of the time Aksel would just dig the knife in but a few times he would drag the scalpel along the skin.

Tears sprung to Coulson's eyes as he resisted the urge to scream and his wounds burned. Aksel then stabbed him higher up, puncturing a lung, and poured salt into that wound as well.

"Come on Coulson, I want to hear you scream," whispered Smith.

He would have preferred to not give Smith the satisfaction but he couldn't take it anymore. He screamed and screamed as blood trickled from his mouth.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I know it's all depressing but what can I say, I like making things sad and disheartening. I'm happy you're enjoying this though. Thanks for the reviews!**

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"Now, this is going to hurt a lot but don't worry because I'll enjoy every second of your pain," said Smith with a smile. As he looked at Coulson, it seemed like every bit of the man that he use to be was now gone.

Coulson had now already gotten done with the torturing part and was now on to the guinea-pig portion. There was a new acid that Hydra had developed that was supposed to dissolve human skin and human skin only. Hydra also needed to test the antidote to it and see how well it worked as well.

Coulson was once again strapped to a table but they were now in a lab instead of the place before. The walls and floors were completely white except for the splotches of red here and there that was Coulson's blood. A scientist was currently putting a murky, thick, brown liquid into what made Coulson think of an icing tube. The scientist walked over to Coulson and then began to squirt the stuff onto his arm.

Coulson immediately started to scream again.

"Huh, as a torture technique this works pretty well but if we wanted to simply kill someone quickly it wouldn't work to well," commented Smith like he was discussing the weather while Coulson withered in front of him and cried in pain.

"Agreed," replied the scientist. "How about we try the antidote now."

"Excellent idea," said Smith.

They then proceeded to get the acid off Coulson's near skinless arm while more of his blood splattered onto the once clean floor. When they applied the antidote, a clear liquid, Coulson probably screamed even louder than when the acid was put on. The scientist and Smith watched intently as Coulson's skin began to grow back over his arm.

"It's nearly as painful as the acid but works just fine."

"Yes, but don't you think we should test it again a few times just to make sure the result is the same?" suggested the scientist.

"A perfect idea," agreed Smith with a large grin. He was obviously enjoying himself.

Coulson screamed again and again until finally he couldn't scream anymore because his throat was so raw. When this happened, Smith finally had him taken back to the cell. Even though Coulson was still conscientious, the Hydra agents had to drag him back because he could barely move.

When they dropped him into his cell, Barton had to catch him so that he didn't just hit the floor. Smith stood over them with a smirk as he commented, "How touching." He tried to kick Coulson in the back then but ended up hitting Barton's arm as he put it up protectively around Coulson.

"Don't you think you've done enough?" asked Barton coldly.

"For today," replied Smith as he walked out of the room and slammed the door shut.

The moment he was gone Barton said, "Coulson what the hell did he do to you? Don't fall asleep on me either."

Barton tried to situate Coulson as best he could so that he was comfortable and sitting up right. His head lolled over to the side as his eyes began to flicker. "Poured salt . . . in wounds," murmured Coulson in a hoarse voice as he tried to answer Barton's question. "Stabbed . . . put acid . . ."

Barton shushed him as he got what was the rest of the water that they had been given a few hours ago. Coulson tried to stop him, but Barton continued to clean his wounds all the same. Then, with what little water was left, gave it to Coulson to drink. Barton hated seeing him like this but there was nothing else he could do. The only thing that he could do was hope that someone would come soon.


	8. Chapter 8

Two more days had passed since they had found out that Coulson and Barton had been captured so the two agents had been missing for a total of four days all in all. Jarvis had actually found the location of the base the day before but Steve convinced him that they needed to come up with a ready battle plan and not just storm in.

They had planned that of course Thor, Tony, Bruce (who would be the Hulk), and Steve, and Natasha would go. Loki couldn't go because of his bad leg which irritated him to no end. However, Jarvis also didn't like being left out and confronted Tony on it.

"I just don't want you getting hurt," said Tony.

"I can't actually die if you remember correctly," pointed out Jarvis. "Even if this body was completely destroyed I'd still exist because I am still this house. I'm also still connected to your suit."

"Okay, but you've never actually fought with a weapon before," countered Tony.

"Let me see, who's the one that shows you all your targets and directs where your weapons are fired? Oh, that's right, it's me," replied Jarvis as he crossed his arms.

"That is true but you never have actually handled a weapon with your own hands," Tony shot back.

In response, Jarvis picked up one of Tony's screw driver and a wrench. He through the wrench up into the air and then, as it fell back down, threw the screw driver hard enough that as the end of it hit the wrench, it was sliced in half.

"And that screw driver wasn't even sharp," said Jarvis, "and I can assure you, I'm better with a gun."

Tony was silent for a moment, still stunned and finally commented, "You're buying me a new wrench."

Jarvis took this as a 'yes you can come.' Before they left, Natasha supplied Jarvis with two guns and their holsters, and a set of throwing knives. Tony still wanted proof that Jarvis could fire a gun just fine so Jarvis shot at a target they made, spun around and shot at the target again. The first bullet had hit the exact center and the second one had landed right on top of it. It was fair to say that Tony and the rest of the Avengers were convinced.

Jarvis dressed up in black jeans and a long sleeved black shirt with black tennis shoes. He didn't have to worry about being injured so he didn't need to wear any protection against bullets and he didn't have to wear any extra clothing because even though he could feel the cold, he wasn't affected by it.

So, Jarvis and the Avengers boarded onto one of S.H.E.I.L.D.'s planes and headed towards Hydra. Apparently Hydra's base was situated just on the border line between Norway and Sweden. The plan was that Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Captain America would go in first. Black Widow and Jarvis would follow. While the other Avengers were smashing the place up and distracting Hydra, Black Widow and Jarvis would be searching for Coulson and Clint.

Tony told Jarvis not fight with anyone unless he absolutely had to which Jarvis agreed with. Even the Hydra agents were scum, Jarvis didn't want to kill anyone but they had taken Coulson and done only god knows what to him. Jarvis didn't want to kill but they had made him extremely mad and that certainly wasn't good for Hydra.

The plane flew faster than most, getting them there in less than two hours. They landed about a quarter of a mile away from the base, hiding themselves in the trees. The group walked to the edge of the tree lines where Bruce finally transformed into the Hulk, signaling the start of the plan. Hulk immediately began to crash through the line of trees towards the extremely surprised Hydra agents. Captain America quickly followed along with Thor and Iron Man. Once they had engaged in the battle, Black Widow and Jarvis headed out.

Just like they had planned, neither one of them engaged in the enemy as they rushed into the building. The place was absolutely enormous but neither Black Widow nor Jarvis paused in their pursuit to find Coulson and Clint. While they ran, one Hydra agent tried to get them from the back put Jarvis threw one of the knives that he had been given behind him. He hit the agent perfectly in the head without even turning around.

_I'm coming Coulson_, thought Jarvis. _I'm coming._

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**AN: Thanks so much for the reviews and I hope you liked this chapter. I got the idea of a fighting Jarvis after watching **_**Priest**_** with Paul Bettany for the first time.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Thank you so much for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

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Moving through the huge building, both Jarvis and Black Widow had made their way through most of Hydra's base. Finally, they had gotten to the stair well that seemed the most likely place you would hold a prisoner.

"I'll start from the bottom," said Jarvis and, before Natasha could ask what he meant by that, Jarvis jumped off the stairs and fell down, all the way to the bottom, creating a fairly large dent in the floor. Natasha then began to run down the stairs as quickly as possible, looking in any door that she passed but was unable to find either Clint or Coulson.

Jarvis finally brought out one of the guns that he had been given; he had used both knives already, and then began to go down the hallway in front of him. It would have been hard to see in the murky darkness for a human but Jarvis was able to see perfectly and therefore was not taken by surprise when he saw two Hydra agents in front of him, guarding a metal door.

Both grabbed at their guns but only one was able to get it out of his holster before Jarvis had already shot the other. The man fired at Jarvis but he easily dodged it and shot right back at him, hitting him in the head.

During this Black Widow had already made it almost all the way down the stairs when she saw a man beginning to walk down the hallway. It was Aksel. She wasn't able to get her gun out fast enough and instead yelled, "Jarvis behind you!" as she made her way down the few stairs that were left.

Jarvis spun around only to be thrown back several feet by the huge man. He skidded across the floor, his gun falling from his hands. Black Widow, who was now in the hallway with them, took out both of her guns and though Aksel twice in the head.

Slowly, the bullets were pushed back out and the skin around it grew back over.

"Well this sucks," she said simply as she ran at Aksel. Jumping into the air, she knocked him down with a kick to the head and landed in front of him. Jarvis was up by this time and brought his other gun out. Even if it had no effect on the man maybe he could use it to distract him.

"You can't defeat me," said Aksel with his thick Norwegian accent as he got up off the ground. "Neither will you get out of this alive."

"We'll see about that," replied Black Widow as she kicked him with both her feet in his chest, knocking him backwards.

As Aksel stumbled, Jarvis saw shot him in the head and then jumped up grabbing a pipe from the ceiling and ripping it down. Hot water spewed all over Aksel as he screamed in pain and anger.

"Jarvis I have an idea," Black Widow suddenly said as both she and Jarvis took several steps back from the enraged man.

"I'm open to anything," replied Jarvis.

"Well, even though it seems like we can't kill him," spoke Black Widow, "we might still be able to knock him unconscious at the very least."

Jarvis was about to suggest something when suddenly Aksel ran through the boiling water and threw both Jarvis and Black Widow against opposite sides of the hallway. He grabbed Jarvis' right forearm, picking him up, and said, "I told you. You can't defeat me."

Aksel shoved Jarvis' arm under the boiling water expecting him to begin to scream in agony. Instead, the skin fell away to reveal wires and a metal skeleton.

"Sorry," said Jarvis, "but that doesn't work on me." Then with more strength than any one man, Jarvis used his other hand to punch Aksel in the face, completely crushing his nose. Aksel let go as he once again cried out in pain. As he fell backwards, Black Widow jumped up and did a kick to his temple as Jarvis used his right hand, so that the blow wouldn't be softened by the skin that was still on his left, and struck Aksel on the other temple as hard as possible.

Despite the damage they had dealt, Aksel didn't die and simply fell to the ground unconscious.

"Fury's going to have fun with this one," muttered Natasha.

Finally, they got over to the metal door that the two Hydra agents had originally been guarding. Jarvis twisted the handle, breaking the lock, and opened the door. What met his and Black Widow's eyes shocked them both.

Clint, who had heard the commotion outside, stood protectively in front of Coulson who was currently out cold. Clint had multiple bruises on his body; he had taken off his shirt to try to keep Coulson warm, and was shaking simply from the effort of standing up. However, when Clint saw who stood in the doorway, he fell to his knees in relief.

"Coulson needs medical attention, immediately," said Clint as Natasha knelt beside him.

Black Widow, now knowing that Clint wasn't in any danger of dying, went over to where Jarvis was by Coulson.

He had wounds all over his body. Many of them looked infected and a few were still bleeding because they hadn't scabbed over yet. Coulson's breathing was faint and ragged as he held onto life.

"Don't leave me Coulson," whispered Jarvis as he picked him up. "Please don't leave me."


	10. Chapter 10

Black Widow wasn't sure if the fight with Aksel had taken longer than she had thought or if the rest of the Avengers were simply more destructive this time around. Either way, when Jarvis, Coulson, Clint, and herself were finally back on the ground floor, the fight was over.

Most of the scientists hadn't put up a fight at all and currently Thor and Captain America were guarding them and the few Hydra agents that were still alive. Smith was among them. Iron Man flew over and started to say, "S.H.E.I.L.D.'s bringing more—" when he stopped upon seeing Coulson and Clint. Jarvis was carrying Coulson while Black Widow was supporting most of Clint's weight.

"Tony, get Coulson to someone, quickly," said Clint.

As Jarvis handed Coulson over to Tony he asked, "What happened to him? What happened to both of you?"

"I'll explain later but right now Coulson's in a serious condition. He needs medical attention now."

"I guess it's a good thing I'm back then," Bruce suddenly said. He just changed back into himself and was shivering like crazy from the cold as he held up his pants. "Tony, get Coulson out of here and try to make him as comfortable as possible on the plane. Then come back for me."

Iron Man nodded in understanding as he quickly flew off with Coulson.

"Let me look at you for now Clint," suggested Bruce.

"First I'm going to go get you some clothes," replied Clint as he trudged over to where Smith was. The others watched with eyebrows raised as they wondered what he was going to do. "Give me your clothes Smith."

"What—"

"I said give me your clothes and if you don't I swear to god I'll make you feel double the amount of pain Coulson felt," growled Clint.

Smith quickly removed his shirt and pants and was now the one shivering in the cold as he stood in his underwear with the others.

"Here, you go Bruce. They might not fit perfectly but I'm sure that's okay for now."

"I'm going to take it you don't like that guy."

"No I don't. He's the one who had Coulson tortured and treated like a guinea-pig."

The moment Clint said this Jarvis' eyes seemed full of rage. Nobody stopped him as he marched over to Smith. In fact, while he did, Bruce put on the clothes and then began to see how Clint was doing with Natasha by his side. Both Thor and Captain America seemed suddenly fascinated by the other prisoners as well.

Jarvis grabbed Smith by the neck and asked, "Were you the one who tortured Coulson?" When Smith didn't say anything, he yelled, "Where you?"  
"Yes!" croaked out Smith as he tried to get enough air. "I was the one who wanted him hurt! I preformed tests on him just please don't kill me!"

Out of all the men that Jarvis had killed today Smith probably deserved it the most. Jarvis' hand tightened around Smith's throat but eventually Jarvis let go, letting Smith fall to the ground. Jarvis knelt down beside him and in a cold voice said, "I don't like to kill. It's just not something I take any joy in so I won't kill you. However—"

And here he paused for effect.

"— for the rest of your life you will be imprisoned with no rights of any kind and you'll wish that I had killed you here and now."

Jarvis then moved away as he left Smith to shiver from the cold but mostly from fear. He then went back over to where Bruce, Natasha, and Clint were.

"You need food and water desperately," Bruce was saying. "For at least a week, you need to stay off any missions so that you can get your health back and don't you dare argue with me because I know that any other doctor would say the exact same thing."

Clint nodded as Natasha kissed him on the cheek, obviously happy that he would be okay. At that moment, Tony was back again.

"S.H.E.I.L.D. is almost here so they'll be taking control of all the prisoners so once they arrive we can leave."

"My suggestion is, and I'm sure you all would agree with me, is that Natasha, Clint and I go leave now so that I can get both Clint and Coulson to a hospital sooner. Everyone else can then go back with S.H.E.I.L.D." said Bruce.

"All right, I'm fine with that," replied Tony. "Here, I'll carry Clint over to the plane while you and Natasha started walking that way."

"I'm going to," Jarvis quickly put in.

"Fine by me," said Tony as he gestured for Clint to go towards him.

"You are freezing, you know that Tony?"

"Hey, it's either this or walking and I'm pretty sure it'd take you quite a while to walk," shot back Tony as he then flew Clint back to the plane.

As they left, Bruce, Natasha, and Tony hurried back to the plane on foot. When they got there, Tony had already gotten the plane ready so they flew off immediately.


	11. Chapter 11

Jarvis sat by Coulson's hospital bed, leaning against the safety bar. A week had already passed and Jarvis hadn't moved from that position once. His right arm and hand were still devoid of skin as well because he hadn't let Tony work on it. He didn't respond to anyone whether they were one of his friends, a doctor, or a nurse too. The only way you could tell that he hadn't shut down completely was because every few hours he would slowly blink but besides that he was frozen.

The reason Jarvis hadn't moved was because Coulson had gone into a coma. His body was slowly healing but he hadn't woken up once. He just lay there while the heart monitor was slowly beeping away.

At about noon a doctor came in and stood beside Jarvis. He stayed silent for a few minutes but when Jarvis didn't say anything the doctor said, "I have some sad news."

When he still didn't respond the doctor continued, "Agent Coulson now has less than a twenty-five percent chance of waking up and each day he stays in this coma it gets lower. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do to help him."

The doctor waited a little while longer but when it was obvious Jarvis wasn't going to say anything the doctor finally left. However, it was only after he was gone that Jarvis did seem to respond to the news. Slowly, the AI moved, his joints popping and creaking because they had been in the same position for so long.

Jarvis leaned over the safety rail and softly kissed Coulson on the forehead as oil tears began to fall from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry Coulson," whispered Jarvis. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you sooner. Maybe if I had you'd be awake now but either way we'll never know. I wish you were here and I don't want you to leave. I love you so much. I don't want you to die."

Jarvis continued to cry as his eyes remained tightly shut as if it was trying to keep the flood of tears at bay. Suddenly, however, the tears stopped as Jarvis felt a hand on his shoulder. Jarvis's eyes opened and then widened in amazement and joy.

"I could never leave you. I love you too much," answered Coulson.

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**AN: Thank you so much for the reviews and story alerts! I'm so happy that everyone seemed to enjoy this and I'm sorry that it's coming to an end. Nevertheless, I just wanted to say that there will be one last sequel that I'm going to write for my little Avengers series. It'll be called 'Our Bright future.' I'll begin posting it either later today or tomorrow.**


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